Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-05-18

LANCASTER, NAY is. 1857.


& Tho new revenue bill has passed both
s1ennehes Of the legislature BY large major.
1tles, and win receive the governors appro.
wi II isa very elaborate measure, re.
plscing al existing laws for the reduction
g s1ate taxation, without making any
Wy radical change in them. The design
SIems 10 have been to sweep into the as
bessnnent Ill the moneyed capital in the
elAte and the work appears to be done
I quite effectually. No form Of interest
hsaring security escapes, whether invested
i + this or othef states. Book accounts,
\ nd bank accounts subject to check with.
out notice, are not taxed. Building asso.
elati0n stock and manufacturing company
eeock that u employed within the state, is
eHsnpt. Corporations pay the tax upon their
securities, and may deduct it from the
\ amount paid their creditors. Persons lend
S lng moneys are forbidden to charge the tax
= IN addition to the interest, and any con.
sesa0t b that end is made void. Watches,
edrriages not for hire, and household goods
aso exempt from taxation.
There are thirty-six sections in the act,
wAicA has been very carefully drawn, and
peEhaps there will be less than the
usual difficulty experienced in read
1ng It, that is generally found in
construing revenue laws, though there
win very certainly be enough of it. The
bill was passed 50 unanimously by the
egislature, not 30 much because of its ex-
cellence as because some revenue bill had
TO be passed before the impending adjourn.
ment, and 1t was this or nothing. There
mas been no % %c-,ortunity afforded for the
discussiQc Tthe bill by the public, and it
wlk1t be at all surprising If it turns out
sSSdkt, despite the wide cast of the net,
many q big fish escapes. The little fish are
sure to be caught under any revenue law.
This one covers capital 90 broadly that it
MAJ De held 70 embrace every form, except
such as are specially exempted, whether in.
terest bearing or not. The expression used
y "and all other moneyed capital in the
hands Of individual citizens Of the state. ''
That will take in everything any citizen
owns, barring his exempted household fur.
niture, his building association or manu-
facturing stock, his watch or his carriages.
The provision prohibiting the collection
of the tax from the borrower, is manifestly
not enforceable and is not practicable. II the
legislature does not want the borrower to
pay the tax it wants on the Indebtedness,
+ should omit the tax, for it Is not in human
power to the prevent creditor from making
thsborrower pay it. The only effect Of max.
ing itnot collectible will be that the debtor
WIN have to pay the interest in advance of
eotting the money as the banks make
their debtors do.
The tax on mortgages and that now laid
on real estate, make double taxation and
both have to he paid by the owner of the
geal estate. 1t is pity that when this
revenue bill was under consideration the
whole subject Of equitable taxation could
not have been entered into and considered
70 the end that the burthen Of taxation
might be imposed in fact as well rs in
seeming upon wealth. 1t seems evident
that land should be credited with the
amount ofthe recorded mortgage or 'judg.
uents upon it, by the tax assessor, and that
the owner should be charged with a tax
only upon the surplus, unless the owner of
~ estate can be fairly charged with
. double tax; and there is no good
toneon apparent why he should he.
10 b sure his land lies open to view and
yeedy for seizure but that does not make
= right to unfairly tax it.
There will need TO be q more thorough
bquiry into just method Of raising the
oeafss revenue than has bsen made in pre-
eefing the bill just enacted into law.